Cruise demand for crew is high but supply is low

Cruise demand for crew is high but supply is low
December 14, 2022 https://www.manilatimes.net/2022/12/14/business/maritime/cruise-demand-f...

THE Philippines has more than enough pool of qualified crew for international cruise ships, but only a few are willing to return to sea, said Katherine Avelino, executive director of Business Development, Shipping, and senior vice president for Cruise Operations at Philippine Transmarine Carriers Inc.

The apparent crew shortage for the cruise ship industry began in 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic when tens of thousands of seafarers were sent back home as the cruise industry temporarily closed worldwide.

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"Only a few now want to go back to sea. They were traumatized by the pandemic," Avelino said in a recent forum at Crew Connect Global, the biggest manning event in the world that is annually held in the Philippines.

About 325,000 Filipinos working onboard cruise ships were sidelined by the pandemic. Though safely repatriated back to the country, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) estimated that 300,000 crew various nationalities were trapped onboard past their contracts because of travel restrictions; more than 100,000 of this number were working on cruise ships.

As the pandemic soared for over two years, the repatriated crew have reassessed their career paths and priorities.

"Some have already built their businesses here on shore," Avelino said.

Avelino said this is a decision among seafarers that showed a reevaluated set of priorities.

Such a move was opted by crew members despite lower income, as it offers a level of safety and closeness to family and friends.

This was confirmed by Naconiel de la Torre, president of Singa Ship Management Philippines, a Norwegian-owned manning agency that deploys Filipino seafarers for cruise and commercial vessels.

"The shortage came in for chefs. A lot of them did not want to go back to sea because they now have their own businesses or other jobs. They are anxious about the uncertainty of being jobless should it happen again," he said.

"There was also a two-year gap for training during the pandemic. No hotels were operating during the pandemic, except for those that catered to returning overseas Filipinos as quarantine sites. The fresh graduates had no place to train; this is a requirement before deployment onboard ships. That's where the shortage came in for new hires and the experienced crew," de la Torre explained.

To address the gap, the Philippine manning industry initiated moves to attract crew to return to ships.

"We utilized social media to show the best of working with the cruise sector, the excitement, and the attractive benefits. We have also looked after the welfare of our crew who were repatriated during the pandemic. We supervised their airport transfers, accommodation setups, food and livelihood," Avelino shared.

"We worked with our principals. We tried to bridge the gap for new hires by training chefs on brand-specific culinary subjects. Our principals are also very supportive in making sure that we are consistent in delivering services to our crew. A lot of Filipinos are getting promoted onboard, and this leaves a lot of vacated positions to be filled," de la Torre disclosed.

Such retention strategies proved effective as Singa Ship has seen a 20 percent increase in its pool of Filipino seafarers that are currently deployed on its cruise vessels.